I just got my 1 a few weeks ago and discovered this forum last week. It has already been a fantastic resource, and I'm learning a lot.

One of the first threads I stumbled across involved swapping the stock chrome badges for matte black ones. I'm considering doing that but I wanted to try going badge-less for a few weeks first, which brings me to this post. In the thread I read most people are using painters tape to create a template for the new numbers. I didn't want to risk losing / crumpling the painters tape after pealing it off so I created a paper template. I figured it might be useful for others as well, so I'm posting it here.

Start by downloading the template pdf. The verified templates have been confirmed to work by myself or other thread members. The unverified templates were created using the specs supplied by BMW, but have not been tested. The BMW specs do not indicate the thickness of the individual numbers. I was able to make the initial template by measuring the letters on my badge. Numbers other than 1,3,5, and i, may be slightly off. If you use one of the unverified templates and it works please post pictures in this thread. If you need a template made for your model please PM me.

Disclaimer: If you read through the thread you'll see that there's variation in the position of the badge from the factory. These templates were created using a combination of the BMW specs and measurements taken from my car. They should align the badge in the way the factory intended, but may not match your current badge position.

Print it out from acrobat with page scaling turned off. Once you print it verify that it printed at the correct size using the ruler scale on the left. You can then cut it out -- an xacto works best, but scissors would be fine too. It aligns with the edge of the CHMSL and the top and right edge of the license plate indent (see the photos). I set it up so that it aligns with the seams just where they start to curve away.

DUDE!! thank you SOOO much! i bought some matte black emblems for my icarbon trunk and i've been waiting to install them because i want to get it right. i have the PDF from BMW that gives measurements on where to place them but i was still hesitant cause i want to get it perfect.

just threw the template on my stock trunk that has matte black emblems installed and the cutout didn't match up perfectly with the characters. you'll see that the top of the cutout is overlapping the top of the emblems and the bottom of the cutout isn't even close to meeting the bottom of the emblems in the picture. i made THIS DIY so i know the matte black emblems are in the same exact spot as my stock emblems. could it be that every car's emblems are not exactly the same?

could some of you guys that have stock chrome emblems print out the template and confirm this please? thanks!

could some of you guys that have stock chrome emblems print out the template and confirm this please? thanks!

I hope I didn't mess anything up for you. From the picture it looks as if the other markings are lining up correctly -- it's just the hole for the numbers that's off. Is that correct?

It would be great if someone else could confirm that my template matches the badges on their car. My car was a CPO and I guess it's possible that the dealer removed the badges to detail it and didn't properly reinstall them. If that's the case I'll go by my local dealer, get the proper measurements, and upload a new template.

naww you didn't mess anything up for me , yeah all the markings line up correctly just the cutout didn't.

hope to get the placement confirmed...

Quote:

Originally Posted by panoz7

I hope I didn't mess anything up for you. From the picture it looks as if the other markings are lining up correctly -- it's just the hole for the numbers that's off. Is that correct?

It would be great if someone else could confirm that my template matches the badges on their car. My car was a CPO and I guess it's possible that the dealer removed the badges to detail it and didn't properly reinstall them. If that's the case I'll go by my local dealer, get the proper measurements, and upload a new template.

naww you didn't mess anything up for me , yeah all the markings line up correctly just the cutout didn't.

hope to get the placement confirmed...

Whew. Glad to hear that. I might head by the dealer tomorrow and see for my self. I was planning on taking the badges off tomorrow afternoon but I don't want to do it until I'm absolutely sure I'm putting them back on in the right place.

Whew. Glad to hear that. I might head by the dealer tomorrow and see for my self. I was planning on taking the badges off tomorrow afternoon but I don't want to do it until I'm absolutely sure I'm putting them back on in the right place.

NICE! thanks a lot man! if i may request, could you check it on a few 135's to compare...

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1speedbike

Lol you guys are so anal. I did mine by eye and I think it came out alright.. at least nobody's said anything yet

NICE! thanks a lot man! if i may request, could you check it on a few 135's to compare...

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it by the dealer yesterday. I may swing by this evening if I have time after work.

Quote:

Originally Posted by matt

you guys are aware that there is a offical bmw install instruction?

Does the bmw install instruction provide a template or just measurements? Maybe I could use it to confirm that the template I created is correct. I don't believe I can PM yet, but if you could email it to grif.friedman at gmail dot com i'd appreciate it.

yeah that is the PDF i was referring to in my OP, hopefully it will help you with getting the template made with the correct position. i have the one matt attached (in German) and one in English, here's the English one...

Thanks Matt, that was very helpful. According to those numbers the badge on my car is about 5 mm too low. I've updated the template accordingly and replaced the original PDF in the OP with the new (hopefully correct) version.

One thing that I'm still a little confused about is that in BSM 135i's photo it looks as if the cut out is not only too low but also somewhat crooked. Maybe that's just an optical illusion, but it would still be nice if someone could confirm that the template fits with their factory badges.

Here's a screenshot of the updated template with a virtual piece of tape:

so you meassured the printed version and now your template is correct according to bmw install instructions?

because I want to badge my car tomorrow so I know if I have to take the long or short route

anyways...did you thing about diffrences when people print it out?
like a printer may zooms in or out?
you should add a reference to your pdf!
like two lines that have 10mm space (for people who use metric system like me)
and two lines that have 1 inch space (for u.s.)

so you meassured the printed version and now your template is correct according to bmw install instructions?

because I want to badge my car tomorrow so I know if I have to take the long or short route

anyways...did you thing about diffrences when people print it out?
like a printer may zooms in or out?
you should add a reference to your pdf!
like two lines that have 10mm space (for people who use metric system like me)
and two lines that have 1 inch space (for u.s.)

like this: I I

Good idea! I added a scale to the template in the first post. As long as the file is printed from acrobat and page-scaling is set to none in the print dialog it should print out at the correct size.

The positioning of the badge should be correct according to the bmw install instructions. The distance between individual letters on the badge may be off by a 10th of a mm or so. They don't match up exactly to what bmw specifies but I don't want to adjust them without knowing the exact width of the individual letters. I'm not sure if it would be possible to line up the letters with that much precision anyway, so I'm not going to worry about it for now. If anybody has some calipers and can measure the exact width of the letters I can update the template.

I'm going to head over to my local dealer in an hour or so to see if the new template lines up, and I'll report back.